September 30, 1998
NOTING THE BLACK & GOLD GAME
The traditional fall baseball Black & Gold Game will take place this Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. at Simmons Field. Missouri football vs. Northwestern State (La.) will follow baseball at 1:00 p.m. at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field.
The Missouri baseball team will unveil 17 newcomers this weekend as well as several key returning players. Three of those key returnees, Chris George, Justin Stine and Jake Epstein, were All-Big 12 Conference selections a year ago. In all, the Tigers are working with a 37-man roster this fall.
WHAT'S HAPPENING SO FAR?
The Tigers are entering their third week of intrasquad competition. Several players, both veterans and newcomers, are off to tremendous starts.
Returning starters Jake Epstein and Mike Rallo are both swinging hot bats so far this fall. Epstein homered twice in the first intrasquad game of the season. Also swinging a red-hot bat is senior outfielder Mike Ketelsen, who is looking to solidify himself as the Tigers leadoff man this season. Sophomore Jon Williams, who saw time spelling Nick Schwieder behind the plate last season, is off to a great start with the bat.
There are several freshmen that are opening the eyes of head coach Tim Jamieson early on. Ryan Stegall of Liberty, Mo. has quickly established himself as the front runner for the starting shortstop job. Stegall is hitting close to .450 in the first two weeks of intrasquad competition. Not only has he been impressive with the bat, he has been a force on the mound as well throwing in the upper 80's.
Columbia Hickman product Wes Fewell is also off to a good start with the bat as are St. Louis native Mick Weiss and Davenport, Ia. product Mike Thompson.
On the mound, it is no surprise that senior lefty Justin Stine is off to a good start. Stine, who threw very little this summer, was touched up a bit in his first outing, but has quickly returned to form. Junior Ryan Jamison, who posted an 8- 2 record last year, is throwing with a lot of confidence early on.
Two of the biggest surprises of the fall are hurlers Ralph McCasland and Pete Sansone. McCasland, a sophomore left-hander from Jefferson City, is throwing with a lot of velocity while Sansone, a redshirt junior, has been retiring hitters on a regular basis so far this fall.
THE INJURY LIST
Although several players are being hampered with the typical fall ailments of fatigue and sore muscles, only two players will miss this Saturday's game. Honorable Mention Freshman All-American pitcher Logan Dale is nursing a sore right elbow as is freshman pitcher Brett Logerwell.
FALL WORLD SERIES ON TAP
The Tigers will wrap up the fall with their annual Fall World Series beginning Oct. 15. The team is divided into two even teams and they will play a 7-game series over the span of nine days.
The schedule for the Fall World Series is as follows:
GAME 1 Thurs. Oct. 15, 7 p.m.
GAME 2 Fri. Oct. 16, 3 p.m.
GAME 3 Sun. Oct. 18, 2 p.m.
GAME 4 Mon. Oct. 19, 7 p.m.
GAME 5 Tues. Oct. 20, 7 p.m.
GAME 6 Thurs. Oct. 22, 7 p.m.
GAME 7 Fri. Oct. 23, 3 p.m.